My 17 inch MacBook Pro just went dead. Is there anything I can do to get it to restart? I have tried all listed start -up codes.

If the battery has become completely discharged, then it may prevent the laptop from powering on or even charging. You can try disconnecting the battery, then connect the power adapter to see if it will power on like this. If it does power on with the battery disconnected, then you can try reconnecting the battery while the laptop is powered on to see if the battery will begin charging. If the battery begins to charge, then you must let it charge to at least 10% before disconnecting the battery or powering off the laptop. You must be very careful not to let any metallic or electrically conductive item or surface touch any of the internal components during this procedure.

With a 17" model (or 15"), there is also a possibility of the GPU being bad which was very common with many of them from 2008 to 2011.

47Chris wrote:

My MacBook Pro 17” just went totally dead. I tried all the published start-up codes I could find. None worked. What is my best way forward. I very much like this older larger MacBook pro

Apple may well diagnosis the issue for you, however refuse to service it—

In or out of warranty you can get a free over the counter 'Apple Service Diagnostics' test /assessment

Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Outside the USA

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

ref: see vintage and obsolete:

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired ...

It never pays to get too far behind in the hardware or software....it only makes it more difficult moving forward.

Today there is a 16" model with less of a border or frame all the way around the display;

the actual display real estate has to be very close to the old 17"...

ref: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

RE: "Apple may well diagnosis the issue for you, however refuse to service it—"

I'm pretty sure that Apple will refuse to service it.

The last 17-inch MacBook Pro came out in October 2011 – so that model is over 11 and 1/2 years old now. Others are even older. Apple considers hardware "obsolete" at the 7-year mark, and in many cases stops carrying repair parts and offering repair service at the 5-year "vintage" mark.

I believe the hard drive and battery are accessible on those old 17-inch MBPs. If the problem is that the HDD has died, the OP may be able to replace it with a new HDD or even a SSD (if he has a way to reload Mac OS X). If it is that the battery has given up the ghost, and he can find a compatible replacement battery for such an old Mac, that too, might be something he or a third-party repair shop could fix without needing a lot of assistance from Apple.

I don't know if those MBPs had clock batteries (separate from the main, rechargeable batteries). If they did, the possibility of a dead clock battery might be something to investigate.